My Brother's Keeper
by little.human.gal.pal
Summary: Bella Swan is 17 and raising her little brother,Matt who has Aspergers syndrome. With a borderline neglectful father and hardly any true friends, her life seems unshakable. And she likes it that way. But what happens when Edward comes and changes it all?
1. Chapter 1

"BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLA"

I heard the scream from the kitchen as I tried to fix a decent breakfast. Automatically, my heart began to race and my palms got moist.

_Matthew._

I dropped the blueberries I was pulling out of our small refrigerator and barely noticed how the plastic box burst open, scattering berries across the floor. I raced up the stairs and into my brothers room in record time, yelling to him that _it's okay, it's okay_.

As I rounded the corner, expecting the worst, I felt my panic lessen. His door was wide open, a pile of clothes at his feet. He wasn't having a fit. I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding and walked into his room, stepping over the pile of clothes, to sit on his bed. He sat next to me.

"What's the matter, baby boy?" I said softly, looking up at his face. I couldn't say the wrong thing. He was obviously agitated. I didn't touch him or look him in the eyes. I tried to stay still. "You scared me"

"I can't find my blue shirt" he breathed and I felt myself relax. I put my hand on his shoulder and smiled slightly.

"I just cleaned it" I said and his eyes snapped to mine. It's kind of rare when he looks at me directly and the few times he does, it's usually shocking. He has our mom's eyes. Deep, blue… piercing. "Let me go get it"

I almost trip down the steps while makes me quietly laugh at myself. For falling and also for overreacting. I grab his shirt from the dryer and run back up to Matt's room. As I handed him the shirt, a line formed in between his eyebrows.

"It has buttons" he says, monotone. His left leg starts to fidget.

"Just one" I say back quickly and sit back down on the bed "And you don't even have to button it" I continue "You can leave it open and it will be like its not even there"

"Why wouldn't I button it?" he asks "That can't be right"

"Do you trust me?" I ask and study him closely as he nods his head. I smile "Then come on. Put it on"

He stands up and pulls the shirt over his head. When the shirt's on he turns to me, smiling nervously, and brings his arm up to touch the back of his neck. I stand up and walk until I'm standing in front of him. Matt's about two inches taller than I am already, and I can already imagine what it'll be like when he towers over me like most other people do. I put my hands on his shoulders, straightening out his sleeves and his collar and making a point to _un_-button the one small button on the neck of his light blue polo.

That made him grimace.

I turned him around to face the full body mirror next to his door. The thing had countless cracks and breaks from Matty's fits, but you could still see in it fine. As he looked himself over, I watched him too. His sandy blonde hair was tousled, like always, and his eyes were calculating. I was used to seeing this look on his face, features set, and eyes searching. His shirt is plain blue; he won't wear anything but plain colors, and he wore khaki shorts. I smile at his reflection and when he sees it through the mirror he turns to face me again.

"I guess that's not so bad" he said, trying to smile. Just hearing him say this, I'm elated.

"Matty! Good for you, baby! Compromise!" I say my voice higher than usual. I know I'm smiling like mad and maybe freaking him out but I can't help it. My baby boy is learning, slowly but surely, to communicate and connect with people.

I suppose I should explain. Matthew is my brother. He's almost thirteen years old. At age two, my brother was diagnosed with mild Asperger's syndrome. Aspergers is an Autism spectrum disorder that affects Matt's social skills. He is not able to connect with others socially. Not because he doesn't want to and not in the way that many teens don't, he wants nothing more than to live a normal life, but he _can't_. He is almost always anxious. At age 13, he still likes to "play", but his IQ is abnormally high, higher than mine. Matt can't tell when people are angry at him or if he's done something wrong unless someone tells him "Matthew, I am angry at you right now." And he is very literal. For example, if we go visit an aunt or uncle and they say "Matty! You've grown a foot since we last saw you!" he would look down at his feet and reply "No, I still have two" or if you say "I have to talk to you, take a seat" Matt will pick up a chair and say "Take it where?" He's hopeless at reading social clues and expressing himself to others. In addition to all that, Matt is hypersensitive to things like sounds and light. Small things can set him off, send him into fits, like the sound of police sirens or silverware moving on a plate. He is rule-oriented and relies on daily routine to stay calm.

Today is Matt's first day of middle school.

I'm terrified for him; not only is it a change in his routine, but I know what middle school is like. It's almost as bad as high school, especially when you're different. It's hard enough without autism.

At first glance, Matthew is a totally normal pre-teen. I'd even say he's handsome. He looks normal, and talks normal. It what he does and what he says that labels him as weird to the kids at his school.

He is wise beyond his years. Beyond _my_ years, even. And he shows it. That in itself is enough to make him isolated.

I know I sound like a worried mother, but I'm really all he has. And sometimes I feel like his mother. Our mom walked out about a year after Matthew was diagnosed. She said we were all changing and she wanted her family back, and that it was all just too hard for her. I think she just got bored. She moved to Florida with some young baseball player and her replacement family. I wouldn't even know she was alive if it weren't for the child support check we get once a month.

We live with our dad, but when mom left it hit him hardest. I think he still blames Matthew for their divorce. He isolated himself from his only son. It breaks my heart, especially when Matt hardly notices.

Matthew acts differently around me. He smiles and talks more and I think he can tell what I'm feeling, even though any doctor you ask will say he can't interpret other people's feelings. He's actually my best friend. And I'm his. And I think were both okay with that. I'd do anything for him, and I do. I like to think he'd do anything for me.

"Bella" his voice brings me out of my thoughts and I realize I've been looking at him and absently playing with the hair on the top of his head.

"Sorry, Matty" I say and take a step back. "Are you nervous? For school?" I ask as I take in his tapping foot and his shifting eyes. This is how he acts normally around others, but not me.

"I've never had to switch classes before" He says quietly "A new teacher and new classmates for every hour. One was enough"

"I know you'll be fine, baby boy" I say, reaching up to push some hair out of his eyes, but I don't look into them because I know he wont like that. "Just be yourself and I'll bet they'll love you just like I do" I finish and kiss his nose.

I know this isn't true. He can't be himself at school, literally _can't_. The place makes him crazy, he's told me, he gets distracted by the buzz of the fluorescents and almost looses it when he hears someone scratch their skin or sharpen a pencil. Plus the people…

"I don't think that's going to work, Bella" Matt murmurs. Matt is always brutally honest. I know never to ask him questions like: Do these jeans make by butt look big? Because he will always tell the truth. Always. He can't lie.

"Well, you never know" I smile at him but change the subject "Come on, sweetheart, let's eat breakfast" I grab his hand and lead him down the stairs. I don't really have to lead him anywhere; he could probably walk to California without help if he wanted to. I guess I'm just overprotective. Sue me.

As we walk into the kitchen, Matt gasps.

"What happened in here?" his voice sounds small. I almost panic and automatically bend down to pick up the blueberries off the floor and throw them into the trash bin.

"When you called for me" I explain quickly "I was afraid something was wrong and kinda dropped everything to come help you"

To my immense surprise, Matt just laughs. I look up at him with wide eyes as he bends down to help me pick up the berries.

"Belly, why are you looking at me like that?" he says smoothly.

"Oh! I just thought… never mind. I don't know, baby. Just upset for the berries" That's a lie, and I know he can tell. I thought might have a tantrum.

"Liar" he says but drops the subject. While he sits down at the table, I search the house for blue food that I can give him for breakfast. It's a Tuesday, which means only blue food and blue clothes for Matthew. Tomorrow it will be green, Thursday orange, and so on. I don't understand it, but it keeps Matt at ease so I'm all but willing.

I finally settle on some blueberry yogurt. It's more purple but the containers blue so it should count. I get one for each of us. He eats it in peace and I smile to myself.

When he finishes I look at the clock. It's 6:45. Time to leave. Matt notices too because he gets up to find his shoes and backpack.

Matthew hates my car. I drive an old red truck. Red. Matty hates red, it sets him off. He says red means danger and rhymes with 'dead', therefore makes him anxious. The only reason I can get him anywhere without walking is because you can't see the color from inside.

By the time I get Matt into the passenger seat of the car its 6:51. Matt likes to get to school at 7:03.

On the drive to Fork's Middle School we don't talk. Matt sits eerily still and I wonder if he's calming down his nerves or just trying to force them under the surface.

It doesn't take long to get to his school, but when we arrive I realize that every parent of every other student in this place has decided today was a good day to drive their kids to school. There's a line of about 30 cars in front of mine and more are coming behind us. I sigh and lay my head against the side window.

At the sound of my breath, Matt turns to look at me. I smile at him reassuringly as the line crawls forward and I'm able to move about a foot.

I let my mind drift because Matt isn't talking and nothing happening.

It's not until we're 4 cars from the front of the line that I notice Matt is slapping the outside of his left knee with his hand and looking frantically around.

_Oh no._

I look at the clock just as the time changes from 7:05 to 7:06. Just as this happens I hear Matt's sharp intake of breath and I know that were past his breaking point.

Before I can react Matthew is screaming; a loud, high-pitches screech that vibrates the windows and cuts the silence like a blade. He moves blindly, thrashing around like mad.

I throw my foot down on the brake and put the car into park. I know were in the middle of a school parking lot where people are impatient and kids are walking past the car, but that doesn't register as I throw myself out of my seat and roll onto his. I sit in a straddle position, pinning his legs down and grab his arms, pinning those too.

"Matty, Matty, baby? Your okay. Your okay." I say over and over again. I wrestle him back into his original sitting position, but he's still fighting me; thrashing and hitting. I feel his head bang forward and collide with my shoulder bone. _"I'd like to be" _I sing to him _"Under the sea, in an octopus's garden in the shade"_

I couldn't tell you why, but ever since he was little Matt liked the sound of this Beatles song. Any Beatles song, really. But this one in particular seems to calm him down best and always bring him back to me. When I asked him why he thought that was, he'd said "Ringo's my favorite Beatle" I'd said "I didn't think Ringo was anybody's favorite" and he'd just replied "Exactly"

At last, Matt's muscles relaxed under mine. Tears run down the corner of his eyes and I lift my right hand to wipe them away. Gently, I grabbed his face in my hands and forced him to look at me.

"Look Matt, we're here. We're right here. Look" I move his head so he can and then bring his eyes right back to mine. "Matty, sweet boy. You're alright. We're here. Come on. Let's go" I open his door and get out of the car. I don't look around me, only right back to Matt. He takes my outstretched hand and starts to climb out of the car. I tell him to close his eyes so he doesn't see the red. I lead him forward a few steps and then stop to turn and look at him.

"See? Are you okay now?" I say to him. He closes his eyes for a second and breathes. When he opens them he nods and I smile brightly at him.

"Cool as a cucumber" He's said that after a fit every since a fight I'd had with our dad about a year ago. I'd been upset and Matt had asked me how I was. I'd said "Cool as a cucumber" I don't know why I said it, or why it made Matty laugh, but it stuck anyhow.

I run to my car to grab his backpack. That's when I notice the people. All the kids and parents within ear shot are gawking. I roll my eyes at them. They don't know anything.

I hand Matt his backpack and he slides it onto his shoulder. His face has returned to its normal color and he's not shaking anymore. I'm relieved.

"I'll see you after school, Bella?" Matt asks me and I nod,

"I will be right here" I reply. I hope he detects the second meaning to my words, though I know he probably can't. He nods and starts to walk toward the school.

As I walk back to my car, I see that many people are still staring._ Still._

"He's autistic!" I snap. "You wanna take a picture or somethin?" I know I'm overreacting by yelling like this but people obviously have no manners.

Well, it works. Almost spontaneously, everyone's head snaps down to the ground and then they go back to whatever they were doing.

As I'm driving away from the school, away from Matt, knowing I'm probably going to be late to my own classes, I can only think one thing.

Yeah, my life is hard. Really hard. But I wouldn't trade it for anything.


	2. Chapter 2

Please review and tell me if this story is worth continuing or not(:

I pinkie swear the Cullens will be in the next chapter haha I just needed to set the ground for Bella and Matt's relationship and Matt's autism.

Disclamer: I don't own Twilight or house rules… I own Matt though(: he's pretty cool

Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**I DON'T OWN TWILIGHT.**

I ran like a bat out of hell through the parking lot of Forks High. I double check the schedule in my hand and race into my first class. Calculus. I wasn't _that_ late, only a few minutes, but late enough to draw attention to myself.

"Ms. Swan, I presume?" The teacher, some balding guy wearing a pastel yellow dress shirt, asks. I nod because I'm out of breath. I can imagine what I look like right now, panting and damp from the rain. "Glad you could fit us into your busy schedule" he sneers.

"No prob" I reply. Some of the kids in the class laugh. I smile and slide into and empty seat near the door. I hear Mr. Teacher Guy mutter "Don't make a habit of it" and I laugh.

I do alright in school, average. I try to keep under the radar for the most part. I figure the more attention I get, the more attention Matt gets. He already gets more than he can usually handle so why add to it?

I'm more mature than most of the people here and I don't really buy into the typical high school drama. Plus, the kids here would never understand my brother. I can't have parties or sleepovers or do any of that girly stuff at home, and I can't just up and leave him alone to do it elsewhere.

At lunch, I sit with Alice, Angela and Ben. Every once in a while, Jasper, Alice's boy friend, sits here too. Alice and Angela are the only people that I trust with my brother. They love him. When they look at him, they see what I see. That's all I can really ask for.

My last class of the day is biology. I'm one of the first people in the class so I choose an empty desk by the door.

While I wait for the bell, I draw absently in a notebook. When it rings, I automatically look up to the teacher.

Just as Mr. Banner opens his mouth, the door next to me slams open. In walks Edward Cullen, like he doesn't have a care in the world. Maybe that's why he gets to my nerves… because he's so freakin carefree and _happy_ all the time. He's like Alice on steroids.

I roll my eyes and go back to doodling on the paper until I hear the chair next to mine move out with a loud screech. I look up, eyes wide, as Edward flops into the seat next to me.

The teacher is droning on about classroom rules and passing out a syllabus, just like every other teacher has today. Edward turns to me.

"Hey" he says. He doesn't say anything else, just lifts up his arm for a hand shake. I look at him with a smirk. A _handshake?_ Okaaaaay.

Edward has an older brother, Emmett, who graduated last year and younger sister who is in Matt's year. I've only spoken to him once or twice, but who hasn't? Edward talks to everyone.

"So, _Bella_" the way he says my name gives me chills. I feel my face heat up and bend my head so my hair falls in front of it. Edward laughs "How's your first day back?"

"Average" I say, monotone. I don't smile or even look at him. I know it's bitchy but he is the last person I need to associate myself with.

"My names Edward, if you care" I can almost hear him pout. I steal a look at him. His eyes are the color of the plastic emeralds in a necklace my mom bought me before she left.

"Do you enjoy being a walking billboard for Nike?" I ask, eyeing his shirt. He looks down at his shirt, too, and laughs.

"Its laundry day" he smirks, which almost makes me gasp aloud. I hide it with a cough as my face gets hotter.

I sigh and look back to the teacher. Edward doesn't say anything for the rest of the class, but I can feel him looking at me from time to time. I'm not quite sure what to make of that.

On the way back to Matthew's school, I wonder what was going on with Edward. I know I shouldn't risk it, but would it be so bad to have one friend? Only during school, because surely he had more important things to do then sit around at home with me. Maybe it'd be nice to have a friend who had no idea who my brother was or that he was autistic.

When I got there, the first thing I saw was Matt sitting on a step with his head in his hands. I roll down the passenger seat window.

"Matt" I call out to him. He looks up and stands. As he walks, he looks everywhere but the car. "How was your day?" I ask when he gets into his seat.

"Good" But I can tell he's lying

"Matthew" I scold him. I start to pull out of the school.

"The lights were too bright" He confesses. "I had to take three sensory breaks. I _hate_ that room. I makes me feel like a- like a… a _retard_" His eyebrows crease when he says this. I sigh.

"Matty, you're not retarded"

"I know, that's what you always say" he says, looking out the window. He doesn't say anything else for the whole ride home.

When we get home, Matt goes to his room and I start trying to throw things together to make a blue dinner. Once it's finished I call to him and hand him a plate.

We sit together and eat but Matt is silent. This isn't all that weird but I can't help but think something's still on his mind.

"Did you do your homework?" I ask him, trying to make some conversation.

"Didn't have much. It's only the first day" He doesn't look up from him plate.

"Well…" I tail off because he hasn't answered my question. He does this a lot, because he can't straight out lie to me, he often avoids the question or doesn't tell the whole truth.

"I got assigned a project in science class. We have to do it all at home. I'm supposed to work with someone but I'm gonna ask Mr. Anders if I can work alone" he bites his lip.

"And why would you do that?" I ask him, setting my fork down. There must be something bad because Matt doesn't usually attract extra attention to himself unless he has absolutely _no_ other choice.

"You know why" When he says this I look at him and raise an eyebrow "The girl I'm supposed to do the project with… she's what you would call a _Barbie_"

This makes me laugh. On Saturdays, Matt and I go to the park up the street. He doesn't usually want to play sports or anything with other kids so we just play this game where we look at people and make up their life story. I think it helps him interpret people.

"Well, it can't be that bad" I say with a small smile "Who is this girl?"

Matthew reaches into the pocket of his shorts and pulls out a half-sheet of paper folded up and slides it across the table. As I open it up, I look at Matt.

_Rosalie Cullen. _

Cullen? Oh man… this ought to be interesting.

"She doesn't want to work with me. And her and her friends are really just _mean_ and I don't think I want to work with her either" He rambles and puts his head in his hands.

"Matt, you're gonna meet people your whole life that are gonna be mean. You can't just give in. You gotta show her that you won't let it bother you, okay? Maybe you guys can even be frien-" Before I can finish, the lock on the front door clicks and our dad walks in.

"Bella?" I hear in the doorway.

"In the kitchen!" I call back and then look to see that Matt has gone back to eating. As our dad walks in, I turn toward him. "There's some food left" I say.

Charlie looks at the all-blue dinner on my plate and scoffs, showing me a McDonald's bag.

"Hi dad" Matt says, but he's looking at his plate. Charlie walks over and claps him on the shoulder. This makes Matt cringe and coil into his chair, taking deep breaths out of his mouth. Dad hardly notices.

"Hey, kid" he says, then comes and kissed my forehead. "Later Bells"

And then he walks out. I hear the steps creep and then his door click shut.

It's not until later that night that I resolve to calling Rosalie Cullens parents.

I'm pacing as I enter the number that was on the paper that Matthew abandoned, along with his dinner, after dad left.

_Ring, ring, ring-_

"Uhm Hello?" I am pretty sure this voice is Edward's. There is a commotion on the other side of the phone and I hear him chuckle.

"Edward?" I ask, all business.

"Yeah. Who's this?" he sounds skeptical. I can imagine his eyebrows furrowed and a little crease between his eyes. I clear my throat.

"This is Bella" I answer, automatically "Bella Swan" I add quickly.

He doesn't pretend to hide his surprise. "Bella Swan?" his voice seems higher "To what do I owe the honor"

"Can I talk to your parents?"

"Huh? Oh, Uhm… well they're out of town this week for a medical conference" He still seems surprised, but his voice is back to normal. "Uhm, can I ask why?"

"Your sister?" I wait until I hear him grunt in agreement "and my little brother are supposed to work on a project together"

"Your… wait. Hold on" He stammers then I hear him yell "Rose!"

I heard foot steps and then the sounds were muddled. But I caught the gist…

"You have to do a school project?"

"Uh… yeah? I'm supposed to work with this kid…"

"Yeah I got that. So, what really up?"

"He's weird… He's like… retarded or something"

"Rosalie!"

"What! It's true… I don't know…"

I decide to cut in. "Matthew is _not_ retarded. He's autistic" My voice wavers a bit, because I've never really heard first hand how kids his age see him.

"Oh… man. I'm so sorry. I didn't think-" Edward is obviously nervous and his voice changes.

"Yeah. Whatever" I mutter. "Well, I'm not gonna let Matt back out of this, no matter how bad he wants to, so can we try to figure something out?"

"Uhm… sure. Yeah, sure" I can't help but think how cute he sounds with his words all tied up in knots like that… I don't think there's ever been a time when Edward Cullen didn't know what to say.

"It'd be best if she came over here" I say "Matt would be more comfortable that way. Understand something, okay? My brother has Aspergers. What comes to your mind when you think of autism? Matthew is not like that. I don't have to explain anything to you, but I don't want you to go straight to judging him, like _everyone else_"

"Of course, Bella. Look, I'm really sorry about my sister-"

"No, it's alright" _Not._ "So, what do you wanna do?"

"I could bring her over on Thursday?" He offers weakly.

"Yeah okay, that works. I'll talk to you at school" I say "Oh, and Edward?" I start but I stop myself. _What was I about to say?_ I didn't want to admit it to myself… I definitely couldn't bring myself to say it.

"Yeah?" He answers. I don't say anything. "Bella…?"

_Please don't talk about my brother with anyone at school_ "Nothing… never mind" How could I think that? I'm not ashamed of my brother. I'm only looking out for him, always looking out for him.

"Oh, okay" Edward says. There's an awkward silence as we both try to come up with something to say.

"Well…Bye" I hang up before he can say anything else. I set down the phone, my hands shaking.


	4. Chapter 4

Thursday came quickly. I was unbelievably anxious for Matthews little get together tonight. He's never had anyone over before, he did spend the night at a friend's house when he was 10 but he called me around 2 am to pick him up.

Matt seemed indifferent to the fact that Edward and his sister were going to be here in less than 20 minutes as he sifted through some papers in our little living room.

Edward had tried to talk to me during school, but I had mostly ignored him. I just want to get this all over with and move on already.

"Matthew?" I call to him.

"Yeah"

"Whatcha doin" I say in a sing-song voice as I plop down next to him on the couch.

"Nothing" he says with a laugh.

"Are you nervous?" I cross my legs under me and face him.

"Nope"

"Excited?"

"Nah"

"Come on, Matty! Work with me here" I say with a laugh.

He just smiles. I roll my eyes and stand up, ruffling his hair. I walk back into the kitchen and set out some food for dinner later. I hear Matt stand up and walk in.

"How was school?" I ask, trying to get him to talk to me.

"Bella, I told you. I dropped out and I'm selling crack now" he looks at me with the most serious look…

"Matthew Swan was that _sarcasm_ I heard in your tone?" I saw with false anger. He smiles shyly and I walk to him and wrap my arms around his torso.

"You seem good today. Really good" I say when I pull away. "You're a good boy, you know that?"

He looks a little uncomfortable which makes me laugh. "Thanks Bella" he says.

"Go brush your hair, little boy" I tease. "You look like a hobo."

"Whatever Bella, I'm bigger than you" he laughs lightly.

"Barely!" I yell as his footsteps clomp up the stairs.

I hum quietly to myself as I think up more food to make for orange Thursday. Ha. I hear music coming from Matt's room.

I hear a knock on the door.

"I'll get it!" I hear Matthew say and run down the stairs.

"No you will not" I laugh and run to the door laughing. I just barely beat him and laugh when I see the little pout on his face.

"Your mean." He says and starts laughing.

"Hey kid, don't mess with me" I joke. "I have a six pack"

"Yeah? Where?" He challenges.

"Under my fat! It's shy" I laugh.

"Wow, Isabella. Just… wow" Matt says. He opens his mouth to say something else but there's another knock on the door. _Oops…_

"Shit" I say under my breath, turning to the door. Matthew pinches me.

I swing the door open, revealing Edward Cullen and a girl who stands about a half an inch taller than me. Yeah, I'm tiny.

Rosalie Cullen really _is_ a Barbie. Her light blonde hair falls in loose curls around her face and frames pair of clear green eyes. The same as her brother. Oye vey.

Edward is looking at me with one eyebrow raised which makes me think he heard Matt and I's conversation. Awkwaaaard.

Even more Awkward? The fact that nobodies said anything yet…

"Hey" Matt says, surprising everyone, especially me. I kind of expected him to retract and act like he _usually_ does the second they walked in the door.

"Hello. Matthew right?" Edward looks down to him with a polite smile.

"Yep." Matt looks at me pointedly. He raises his eyebrows.

"Oh. Right. Come in" I say.

"Rose…" Edward trails off. I look at the girl expectantly.

"I'm Rosalie" she says. Her voice is melodic. "It's nice to meet you." She looks around me to Matt "Hello, Matthew"

He waves.

"Well… Where do you want to do this thing, Matt?" I look to him.

"Living room?" It's more like a question then an answer.

"Good. Let's go then" I laugh awkwardly and lead them into the living room. Matt sits right down in his normal place. Rosalie is standing awkwardly next to the sofa.

"You can sit." I tell her and laugh. She smiles lightly and sets her bag down, taking a seat opposite of Matt's. I resist the urge to roll my eyes. "Well, you guys should be fine. Tell me if you need something, okay?" I look around then walk to where Matt is. I crouch down so only he can hear me. "And if _you_ need something please let me know." I look him in the eye to emphasis my point. He looks away.

"Okay. Bye Bella" he draws out. I laugh when his cheeks turn pink.

I turn to walk out and remember Edward. He's standing in the walkway with his hands in his pockets. His lips are pursed and he's rocking back and forth on his feet. I don't know why but this makes me laugh. I walk over to him, grab the sleeve of his shirt and pull him into the kitchen.

I wait until I hear Matt and Rosalie start talking in the other room to turn to Edward.

"You can leave if you want. I can drop her off maybe when they're done working?"

"You know where I live?" He asks with a smirk. Ahhh cocky Edward. I was beginning to wonder where you had gone.

"Well… no-" I start.

"Then I think I'll stay." He says, pulling out a chair at the table and sitting down "If that's alright with you, of course, _Isabella_"

I roll my eyes at him. "Whatever" I mutter and start making food.

Orange day is actually one of the hardest to cook for… There are plenty of orange foods but none of them every go good together. I'm thinking to myself as I raid the entire kitchen. Carrots? Ew. Oh! We have orange chicken. Rice turns orange when you put that saucy stuff in it, right? Ehh, we'll see.

"Bella?" I turn around at my name. "What are you doing?" Edward is laughing.

"I'm cooking" I reply.

"I didn't know it took that much concentration" He says, still laughing.

"Well… it has to be orange" I say before I realize how ridiculous it will sound to him.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh… uhmm… Matty has a thing with colors" I try to explain. "Thursday's mean orange" I look down at my orange t-shirt and then back up at Edward. I can tell he's trying not to start laughing again. Ugh.

"Want help?" he smirks.

"I think I can handle it" I snap. Then I feel really rude so I say "You two can stay for dinner if you like…" not really expecting him to say yes. But _whaddya_ know…

"Really? That would be very nice. Never had a whole meal in one color before" He laughs. I guess I'd rather have him laughing about it than running away…

"Oh… uhmm…" Why am I acting illiterate? Jeez. "Cool" Oh come on… Cool? Wow.

I continue cooking; trying to act normal, but I can feel Edwards's eyes on me. When I finish about 30 minutes later, he's still just sitting there.

"Edward" I say. His eyes snap up to meet mine. "You can set the table" I laugh. He shoots out of the chair like its on fire and listens as I show him where everything is. I walk into the living room.

"Guys?" They look at me "Food" Rosalie gets a confused look on her face and Matt rolls his eyes.

"One minute. Were almost finished" he says.

"Okay take your time" I walk back into the kitchen but Edward is in the doorway.

"Hey" he says

"Hi?" I raise my eyebrows at him.

"How's it goin?"

"Great. You wanna move, pretty boy?" I laugh and move to push his shoulder.

"Ouch! Name calling? Really Bella? Are we in grade school?" He smirks. I roll my eyes and stick my tongue out at him, playing along.

"Okay, seriously. Move" I say after a few seconds. My voice is hard.

"I'm afraid I can't do that" He laughs. I raise an eyebrow. "We've hardly talked the whole night"

"What do you want to chat it up with me for, Eddy?" I say jokingly. He looks me square in the eyes. Instinctively, I look away.

"Why _wouldn't_ I?"

"Well…" I start, using the distraction and brushing past him into the kitchen. "The way I see it, after Matt and Rosalie are done with this project business, we can go back to our lives and go back to ignoring each others existence. So what's the point of making futile conversation?" I flash him a small smile and turn my back to him to face the counter.

"Maybe I don't want that" I'm surprised by how close he sounds. I can feel his breath on my neck. I turn to face him with a glare on my face. His body is pressed against mine.

"Oh I get it now" I say, poking him in the chest to back him up. "This is the part where you turn on the _Cullen Charm_ and I run into your arms like some desperate floozy and then you get what you want and I end up another notch in your bedpost. Works every time, right?" as I say this, I push his further and further away from me.

He looks at me; mouth slightly agape, in shock.

"Bella, I-It's not like that" He catches my wrist and holds it. He comes closer again. "I-"

"What's going on?" I hear Matthew's voice behind Edward. I get on my tip toes to look at him over Edward's shoulder. Matthew is frozen in the doorway, Rosalie slightly behind him.

"Matt" I sigh "Nothing, honey. We're just talking" I push past Edward and walk up to Matt, pushing his hair out of his face. His eyes are dark and smoldering. He ignores me and walks until he's in front of Edward. Matthew is shorter, but if looks could kill…

"Do. Not. Hurt. My. Sister" Matthew spits. Edwards eye get wide and he takes a step back. I would laugh under normal circumstances… but this isn't normal.

"Matthew. Look at me" He doesn't for a few seconds, but he finally turns to me slowly. His eyes soften. "Come here" He does. "Listen" His eyes snap to mine and I blink. "I'm perfectly alright, see? We were just talking. That's all. Are you okay?" I search his eyes, but I can tell he's not with me. He takes many deep breaths and then looks at me again, smiles and stands up.

"Okay" he says brightly. Rosalie and Edward are looking at him in total shock. "What?" He looks between the three of us.

"I think it would be best if you two left" I said to them. Edward's eyebrows furrow in concentration.

"Why?" Matthew says. "Where they staying for dinner? Why can't they? Rosalie is my _friend_."

Oh no. Rosalie walks over to her brother with wide eyes. I know Rosalie was probably just being polite to Matthew… but I should have known he would misinterpret what she said. Now, I'm gonna have to try to explain why Rosalie will act the same way tomorrow at school as she has all the years she has known him… even after their newfound "friendship".

I couldn't tell you why this realization hits me so hard, but as I look into my little brothers happy eyes I suddenly feel like I need to cry. The ugly kind that twists your stomach and makes you blind.

"Matthew" I whisper. My voice is thick. "Go fix yourself something to eat, okay?" He gets up without question.

Edward walks up to me, his sister trailing behind him. "Bella" His voice is light. "Please look at me" I don't. I hear him sigh and he steps away. "We'll talk tomorrow, okay?" I can tell he means business and so I nod my head slightly.

As I walk them to the door, no one says anything. I look into the eyes of the girl next to Edward, searching. I seriously hope she isn't the reason for Matthews next fit. I won't blame her, but I can hope that maybe this will be different.

"Bye Bella" she says "Thank you for having us over"

I nod and look away from her.

"See you around?" Edward asks. I look at him, then. His jaw is tight.

"Guess you will" I bite my lip and look down. "Bye"

I hear the door open. Then close. I sigh, then plant a smile on my face as I walk back into the kitchen.


End file.
